Chapter 294—When We Fail
Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when
I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.
Micah 7:8
.
Nothing but divine power can regenerate the human heart and imbue
souls with the love of Christ, which will ever manifest itself with love for
those for whom He died. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-
suffering, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. When a man is converted
to God, a new moral taste is supplied, a new motive power is given, and
he loves the things that God loves.... Love, joy, peace, and inexpressible
gratitude will pervade the soul, and the language of him who is blessed will
be, “Thy gentleness hath made me great” (
Psalm 18:35
).
But those who are waiting to behold a magical change in their characters
without determined effort on their part to overcome sin, will be disappointed.
We have no reason to fear while looking to Jesus, no reason to doubt but
that He is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto Him; but we may
constantly fear lest our old nature will again obtain the supremacy, that the
enemy shall devise some snare whereby we shall again become his captives.
We are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God
that worketh in you to will and to do of His good pleasure....
We are to grow daily in spiritual loveliness. We shall fail often in our
efforts to copy the divine pattern. We shall often have to bow down to weep
at the feet of Jesus, because of our shortcomings and mistakes; but we are
not to be discouraged; we are to pray more fervently, believe more fully, and
try again with more steadfastness to grow into the likeness of our Lord. As
we distrust our own power, we shall trust the power of our Redeemer, and
render praise to God, who is the health of our countenance, and our God....
By beholding we are to become changed; and as we meditate upon
the perfections of the divine Model, we shall desire to become wholly
transformed, and renewed in the image of His purity. It is by faith in the
Son of God that transformation takes place in the character, and the child of
wrath becomes the child of God.
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